Latin America & the Caribbean

December 2014: As a follow up to the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the UN Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) ‘Making It' publication examines the potential of SIDS to pursue sustainable economic development by steadily increasing economic productivity.

2 December 2014: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation (UN-REDD) has released the December 2014 edition of its newsletter highlighting planned discussions on the post-2015 vision for REDD+ and UN-REDD. High-level discussions will be held with UN agencies, national governments and indigenous peoples at the margins of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC.

1 December 2014: In support of discussions on REDD+ at the Lima Climate Change Conference, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) released a series of briefs on REDD+ safeguards. The first in the series examines social safeguards in Brazil, Indonesia and Tanzania.

1 December 2014: Participants examined progress in executing Articles 4 and 6 of the UNFCCC, which address engagement of stakeholders and public access to information at the national level, at a side event held on the sidelines of the Lima Climate Change Conference. 'Engaging the Public in Climate Decision-Making: Learning from Local and National Experiences,' emphasized the need to promote principles of equity, non-discrimination, accountability and redress.

The benefit of having 25 countries in a programme that spans the globe and represents a range of economic standing from least developed to emerging economies is the incredible amount of south-south learning that can be generated.

December 2014: Ahead of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Lima, Peru, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) released two info briefs on REDD+, one focusing on Indonesia, and the other on Peru.

10 November 2014: A meeting of the Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services reviewed progress and challenges in the provision and use of climate services, including seasonal forecasts and drought and flood management tools. Growing climate impacts highlight the “urgent need” for more cross-cutting climate services and partnerships to help communities adapt to extreme weather and increase disaster resilience.

This Forum, to be convened on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, will provide a multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue and action among governments, UN agencies, business, investors and civil society. The first day of the Forum will include sessions on mitigation, adaptation, technology, finance and other cross-cutting issues, such as carbon pricing, responsible policy engagement and long-term goal setting aligned with climate science. The second day will feature a high-level meeting on corporate climate leadership convening chief and senior business executives, ministers and other government delegates. Nearly 300 participants are expected to attend, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The UN Global Compact, UN Environment Programme (including its Finance Initiative) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat are convening in the Forum.

23 November 2014: Warming nearing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels “is already locked into the Earth's atmospheric system by past and predicted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” according to the third installment in the World Bank's ‘Turn Down the Heat' series. ‘Turn Down the Heat: Confronting the New Climate Normal' examines the risks increased climate change poses to development across Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.

November 2014: The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) has published the ‘Chair's Summary' of the eleventh meeting of the Carbon Fund (CF11). A key agenda item for CF11 was the review of Emission Reductions Program Idea Notes (ER-PINs) for potential selection into the Carbon Fund pipeline. The Chair notes that the review concluded by welcoming Guatemala and Peru into the FCPF pipeline.